The 2016 CAF Confederation Cup group stage was played from 17 June to 24 August 2016.[1] A total of eight teams competed in the group stage to decide the four places in the knockout stage of the 2016 CAF Confederation Cup.[2]
Draw
The draw for the group stage was held on 24 May 2016, 14:30 EET (UTC+2), at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.[3][4] The eight teams were drawn into two groups of four.
The eight teams, all winners of the play-off round, were seeded by their performances in the CAF competitions for the previous five seasons (CAF 5-year ranking points shown in parentheses): two teams in Pot 1 and six teams in Pot 2. One team from Pot 1 and three teams from Pot 2 were drawn into each group, with each team then assigned a random "position" in the group to determine the fixtures.[5]
In the group stage, each group was played on a home-and-away round-robin basis. The winners and runners-up of each group advanced to the semi-finals.
Tiebreakers
The teams were ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If tied on points, tiebreakers would be applied in the following order (Regulations III. 20 & 21):[2]
Number of points obtained in games between the teams concerned;
Goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
Away goals scored in games between the teams concerned;
If, after applying criteria 1 to 4 to several teams, two teams still have an equal ranking, criteria 1 to 4 are reapplied exclusively to the matches between the two teams in question to determine their final rankings. If this procedure does not lead to a decision, criteria 6 to 9 apply;
Goal difference in all games;
Goals scored in all games;
Away goals scored in all games;
Drawing of lots.
Schedule
The schedule of each matchday was as follows.[1][6]